dcextendeduniversefandomcom-20200222-history
Superman
|alias= Superman Son of Krypton Man of Steel Son of El Joe Greenhorn |DOB= 1980 |DOD= |affiliation= Justice League Daily Planet House of El Cassidy Pub (formerly) |family= Jor-El (father) Lara Lor-Van (mother) Jonathan Kent (adoptive father) Martha Kent (adoptive mother) |status= Alive |actor= Henry Cavill Dylan Sprayberry Cooper Timberline |movie= Man of Steel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (unreleased) Justice League Part One (unreleased) |comic= Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lois Lane Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Senator Finch (photos, mentioned) Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Superman Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Lex Luthor (photos, mentioned) }} Clark Kent (born as Kal-El) is an incredibly powerful alien superhero, son of Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, a journalist of the Daily Planet, and one of the very few survivors of the destruction of Krypton. In addition, Kal-El is the first (and last) Kryptonian of natural birth in centuries. In addition, he is the host of the Kryptonian Growth Codex. When Kal-El's father, Jor-El, realized that Krypton was doomed, he and his wife Lara sent their son to Earth, where he would be found by Jonathan and Martha Kent. Using his powers, he defends the people of Metropolis from threats, such as the terraforming attempted by the Kryptonian war criminal General Zod, using the moniker Superman. While he would initially fight against the vigilante Batman, the two would ultimately settle their differences and team up with Wonder Woman, together establishing the valiant Justice League, with Superman also becoming the archnemesis of malevolent genius Lex Luthor in the process. According to Amanda Waller, the emergence of Superman was also what inspired numerous metahumans to finally emerge, openly revealing themselves to the world as well. Thus, he is, in a way, indirectly responsible for the formation of the Suicide Squad. Biography Man of Steel Origins and Birth Kal-El was born on the faraway planet Krypton to the scientist Jor-El and his wife Lara Lor-Van and given the name Kal-El in the wake of a military coup d’état. Kal-El was the first naturally born child on the planet in centuries (due to artificial population control and genetic engineering having been established), and thus not appointed into any of the predetermined Kryptonian Guilds. Foreseeing that the planet was about to explode, Jor-El dispatched Kal-El in a small ship to carry him to safety, sending him to Earth, located in Sector 2814 of the galaxy. Jor-El knew of a colonial settler ship sent millennia ago, where his son would grow up with astonishing powers, while looking identical to the planet's population. His ship landed unnoticed in Smallville, Kansas, where he was found by Jonathan Kent and his wife Martha. The childless couple took the baby in as their own and raised him, naming the boy Clark. Early Childhood Growing up, his adoptive parents helped him learn to use his secret powers in clandestinely. Clark attended Weisinger Primary School in his youth. When Clark was nine years old, his body drastically began to change to adopt his super powers. To the amazement of his parents, Clark began evolving abilities, the extent of which none of them knew. When Clark's super hearing and X-ray vision first developed and all the noises he could hear manifested at once, it was troublesome for the boy to come to terms with. Frightened, he ran out of his classroom and into a closet. His mother was called to school and helped calm Clark and control his new aptitudes. Learning of His Heritage Whilst travelling on the school bus when he was thirteen, the bus drove off a bridge into a river. With the bus submerged, Clark determined to use his abilities in order to save the passengers by pushing the bus to safety. Numerous kids saw Clark do this such as Lana Lang and Pete Ross, Clark’s bully. Pete’s mother confronted Martha and Jonathan, but they defended Clark claiming there was nothing special about him. Back at their home, Jonathan attempted to convey to Clark that he had to hide his gifts from the world if he is to be safe, as not everybody will be as understanding as they are, but Clark questioned why he shouldn't help people if he can. Inquisitive as to his place in the world, Jonathan decided to divulge to Clark his origins. In the barn under the floor, Jonathan revealed Clark's ship to him proving Clark is an alien. Jonathan hugged Clark and said he will always be his son. Jonathan said that Clark owed it to himself to discover who he really is and the reason he was sent to Earth. Death of His Father Four years later, he was driving with his parents on a highway when a tornado swept through the area. People began abandoning their vehicles with Jonathan telling Clark to get Martha to safety. Clark realized he could help people with his abilities but Jonathan told him not to use them, safeguarding his secret. As Jonathan was helping other people, Clark carried a little girl to safety. Jonothan went back for the Kent’s dog who was still in the car. Upon rescuing his dog he injured his leg. Just about to step in and save his adoptive father, Jonothan held up his hand and signaled for Clark to stay put. Jonathan was subsequently swept away in the tornado and died, lending much guilt to Clark. Finding Himself Not long afterwards, Clark followed Jonathan's bidding as well as following his own growing desire to search for his origin, leaving Smallville in pursuit to find the reason why he was sent to Earth. He traveled across North America for years, easily surviving on the borders of civilization, so he could help if he ever came across others in need, and swiftly disappear if anyone became too inquisitive. Sixteen years after Jonathan's death, Clark was still on his journey, and ended up getting himself a job on the Debbie Sue fishing boat. One day, Clark saw a huge oil rig on fire and jumped overboard to try and help the occupants. Discovering people there, he helped them to a helipad where a chopper was arriving to transport people to safety. The helicopter got clear before a huge explosion sent Clark flying unconscious into the water. Awaking shortly thereafter, Clark swam to the shore and skipped town. Later, he got a job in a truck stop bar where he overheard some men talking about the US Military observing a strange construct buried under the ice of Ellesmere Island, Canada. Clark then started working for a helicopter company near to the site and carried the luggage of Lois Lane who is there to write a story on the find for the Daily Planet. Clark then went to the site himself at night, away from the military. He used his heat vision to make a path through the ice to the ship before the ships defences begin attacking Clark. Lois who sees Clark and followed him is also attacked by the defenses; Clark sees her and saves her taking her back to the surface revealing to her his special powers, by using his heat vision to heal an internal wound, saving her life. Walking around the enormous ship he realizes the key Jonathan gave him as a child, was of the same technology and plugs it in to a port. An interactive projection of Jor-El appeared and welcomed Clark. Jor-El enlightens him of his heritage and true name, Kal-El, why he was sent to Earth and the obligation to test the limits of his powers. The Scout ship then activated after thousands of years of dormancy and landed on a mountain top. Jor-El then displayed to Clark their house coat of arms and showed him the history of Krypton and the dangers of other Kryptonians, before giving Clark a Kryptonian skinsuit, which the latter put on. Due to Jor-El's explanation, Clark was now finally able to accept his alien heritage as Kal-El, and embrace his powers, finally able to overcome his weakness of mental power suppression, and so he went outside and began to test the limits of his powers, gradually learning how to fly. Clark returned to Smallville and visited Martha after several years of being abroad. He described to her the explorations he went on and that he found the answers to the questions he had, before Lois Lane showed up at the farm with questions about Clark. Clark found Lois at the Smallville Cemetery over Jonathan’s grave, where he told her that he died in order to protect Clark from the world. His sacrifice convinced her to not publish her story revealing him to the world. General Zod's Arrival and Surrender to Humanity Meanwhile, General Zod the maniacal Kryptonian military leader sent a message to the people of Earth to hand over his missing citizen or suffer his wrath. Recognising that he couldn't put people in danger after a discussion with a Smallville priest, Clark voluntarily handed himself in to military custody wearing his new suit. Lois arrived shortly after wanting questions from Clark and dubbed him “Superman”, before Faora arrived in drop ship for Superman. He went, along with Lois, at Zod’s request, boarded Zod's ship in orbit. Once aboard, Superman came face to face with Zod who had him tied down as the atmosphere aboard was replicating Krypton's leaving Superman practically helpless. Jax-Ur took some of Superman's blood before Zod exposed him to mental probing telling him of the human race dying at his hands. Escape and First Battle Lois, however, had brought Jor-El's key aboard the ship and he helped her escape using an escape pod before changing the atmosphere for Superman to re-claim some strength to break free. Beating a hole in the ship for yellow sun rays to get through, Superman recuperated his full strength and had final words with his father who encouraged him to save mankind. Superman then raced after Lois in the falling escape pod reaching her just before the pod exploded on impact. Superman's super hearing alerted him to Zod, already at Kent Farm and threatening Martha. He flew over and attacked Zod. Zod's breather mask was damaged and all his senses overwhelmed him causing him to collapse. Faora and Nam-Ek followed and confronted Superman with the pair outnumbering him, beating him to the ground and cautioning him that he won’t prevail. He was thrown though buildings in Smallville by Faora, while Nam-Ek went to confront the incoming military forces. Before Faora could kill Colonel Hardy, Superman tackled her and eventually defeated them both. General Zod’s forces retreated back to space to begin their plans for Earth while Superman flew home to check on his mother. Hardy then proclaimed that Superman was not their enemy. Battle of Metropolis and Getting the name Superman Lois then told Superman that Jor-El’s consciousness gave her directions to use his ship against Zod’s which he handed over to Colonel Hardy before flying to the Indian Ocean to destroy the World Engine that General Zod had unleashed. At the US Military Northcom base , General Swanwick gives a green-light to the operation against Zod, with a soldier under his command telling him that the alien Kal-El (who has now been dubbed by others in the military as "Superman") and Colonel Hardy are on the way. The Engine’s defenses attack Superman with many huge tentacles of molten-hot Liquid Geo, but he eventually manages to break through them, and destroy the World Engine by flying up the colossal gravity beam. Taking a few seconds to lie in direct sunlight to recover, Superman then He then flies to Metropolis to stop General Zod who had unleashed his Black Zero starship upon the city at the same time. While Superman flies back, Colonel Hardy and Lois are under attack from General Zod, the latter attempting to shoot their plane out of the sky with the Fortress of Solitude. Superman, however, returns right in time to collide with the Fortress (incapacitating it's targeting systems) and destroy its Genesis Chamber, much to Zod' dismay. The Fortess is thus swiftly brought down onto the ground in Metropolis, colliding with many skyscrapers in the process. Meanwhile, thanks to the efforts of Colonel Hardy and Dr. Hamilton, the Phantom Drive of Superman's infant starship is activated, and the plane successfully collides with the Black Zero. This creates a temporary Phantom Zone energy singularity that sucks in the Black Zero and the plane, including Faora, Nam-Ek, Tor-An, and Car-Vex, but also Colonel Hardy and Dr. Hamilton. At this time, Superman emerges from the crashed Fortress, and flies up, just in time to catch Lois, who fell from the place shortly before the collision. Due to him also having been once exposed to Phantom Zone energy, Superman struggles to escape the tremendous gravitational pull of the singularity, which he ultimately succeeds in doing. He the proceeds to put Lois beside Perry White and Jenny Jarwich and in a moment of adrenaline, Lois kissed Superman, who responded, before confronting General Zod, who was revealed to still be on Earth, having been too far from the singularity. Final Duel with Zod Superman fought Zod in an extreme and very vicious battle across the city destroying buildings, vehicles and property. General Zod vowed in rage that in reprisal for stopping his idea and destroying the chance of making a new Krypton, he would kill all of humanity before ripping off his armour and grasping his flying ability. The two then clashed in mid-air before crashing in Metropolis Central Station where Zod opened his heat vision on civilians. Superman grappled Zod trying to divert his heat vision away before resorting to breaking Zod's neck to save the civilians, causing him brief trauma. A New Life Superman flew back home to Martha in Smallville. He was consoled by her, as Martha was alright, with only some damage to her house. Clark later got a job at the Daily Planet newspaper in Metropolis. Upon arriving at his first day at work, he chose to wear a pair of glasses in an attempt to conceal his identity as “Superman”, with only Lois recognizing him, and promptly welcomed him to "the Planet" (an inside pun joke understood only by them). ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Prequel In his first days of openly being a superhero, Superman took to dealing with natural disasters (notably the wildfires in the home forests of the state of Senator Stearns, that had almost claimed hundreds of lives), crime and humanitarian missions, but he notably avoided getting involved in controversial political disputes, such as wars between the nations of Earth. As such, a massive silvery statue of Superman is built in Metropolis (on the epicenter of what was left after General Zod's terraformation attack on the city), and online message boards are created, which numerous people from all over the world using them as a means to ask Superman for help, regarding both trivial (helping to pay their rent) and severe matters (curing their cancer). At the same time, a number of survivalist militias also emerge, who believe Superman to be the advance scout for a future, larger alien invasion of Earth. Businessman Lex Luthor, whose prolific philanthropic efforts made some claim that he is as much a hero to Metropolis as Superman, claimed that the alien superhero is a figure too mysterious and controversial for him to be a good comparison, but in light of Superman's debut, Lex claims that recognizing the importance of the "ordinary" citizens of Metropolis (such as rescue workers, first responders, and countless ordinary citizens, who also helped save others in the Battle of Metropolis) has become more important than ever. Thus, US Senator Finch believed that before an ultimate decision regarding Superman is made, the issue of his existence must be approached objectively, and she therefore advocated for the creation of a committee to study and learn more about SupermanEverything That All 5 Chapters of the Prequel Comic Taught Us About the World of Batman v Superman. One day, Lois and Clark swiftly exist the Daily Planet newsroom, as Lois heads off to expose the corrupt CEO Mark Hanford (who had been illegally profiting from the sale of Kryptonian weapons on the black market), while Clark heads off to help with floods in Bangladesh as Superman, warning Lois to be safe in his absenceEverything That All 5 Chapters of the Prequel Comic Taught Us About the World of Batman v Superman. Some time later, Superman saves a runaway train full of passengers. As he uncouples the cars, he runs out of track and has to settle the front cars on the desert by lifting them up. Shortly thereafter, video footage of the event is recorded, and studied by Professor Garcia, after which he discusses it with a woman named Teri and another man. Garcia goes out of his way to argue that Superman tries to save lives, with the hero having done so even in the infamous Battle of Metropolis. Garcia also defends Superman's decision to avoid getting involved in wars, as intervening in political disputes (such as unilaterally disarming a country's military) could make the situation worse. Terri appears to agree with the professor, but as it turns out, she is only speaking the words spoken to her through an earpiece by Lex LuthorEverything That All 5 Chapters of the Prequel Comic Taught Us About the World of Batman v Superman. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Field Trip Superman, having learned of criminals attempting to steal Kryptonian technology from the Wayne Enterprises Research & Development Facility, promptly arrives and confronts them. While they initially make him retreat with Kryptonian plasma rifles (due to Superman's unwillingness to hurt them), Bruce Wayne gets a hold of a Kryptonian Signal Jammer, and utilizes it at a high frequency to incapacitate them all, though Superman recovers much quicker than the criminals, and thus, he manages to hand them over to the Metropolis Police Department, though not before confiscating the stolen Kryptonian tech. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ''To be added ''Justice League Part One ''To be added ''Justice League Part Two'' To be added ''Man of Steel 2 ''To be added Personality Superman possesses a strong sense of justice, honor and selfless benevolence. Growing up as the only person of his kind, thus being very different and alienated by his peers, Clark grew up a very confused, lonely and lost person. Hence, this, as well as his inability to understand his superhuman powers, made Clark subconsciously suppress them, with him unable to reach his full potential for many years (until he finally meet Jor-El). Instilled by his parents, he grew up to selflessly care for other people and to do the right thing. Realizing that he could help others with his powers, Clark went against his father Jonathan's wishes to help others. Clark would even go out of his way to save Peter Ross, a boy that had relentlessly bullied him not long ago. This selflessness and faith in others shows that even before meeting Jor-El, Clark already strived to uphold what the House of El had always stood for: hope, embodied in which is the potential that every individual has to be a force for good and righteousness. With the passing of his adopted father Jonathan Kent, Clark went on a journey of discovery in which he learned to control his pent up anger, instead of releasing his incredible power on mere humans, he instead found different means, like wrecking the truck of the arrogant jerk Ludlow instead. As a result, Clark grew accustomed to holding back his incredible strength and powers quite a bit unless absolutely necessary, evident in his battle with Batman, where Superman greatly held back, not wanting to kill his far weaker opponent. While he tended to be quite serious and even brooding, when he meets Lois Lane and receives empathy from her, Clark begins to enjoy life a bit more, with her spunky and sometimes flirty personality having a gradual effect on Clark. Despite usually being calm, gentle and collected, Clark is capable of terrifying displays of rage when provoked, shown when General Zod threatened his adopted mother Martha. Clark promptly tackled the villain off and released his incredible rage upon him. Clark's anger was again shown when Zod threatened innocent bystanders, making Clark determined to put an end to Zod's relentless rampage. As a result though, Clark was inevitably forced to kill the malevolent Zod, an act that Clark was fully remorseful of, prompting him to scream out agony and tears at what he had to do. Despite having felt isolated from humanity for most of his life due to his powers, when he learned about Zod's plans to restore Krypton on Earth, Superman immediately chose to protect humanity over Krypton, absolutely refusing General Zod's offer to help the Sword of Rao sacrifice Clark's adopted people for the sake of a planet that Clark had never known in life. As Superman, Clark is willing to face seemingly insurmountable odds, potentially endanger his own life and safety, and even make choices that greatly conflict with his morality, as long as he is capable of ultimately saving innocent lives as a result. This is evident when he made the choice to reveal and surrender himself to General Zod in order to save Earth, when he faced the combined might of Faora-Ul and Nam-Ek (both much more skilled combatants) without hesitation, when he promptly flew off to destroy the World Engine (despite knowing that being in proximity to it might potentially kill him), when he stubbornly flew against the tremendous force of a Phantom Zone singularity in order to save Lois, and when he made the incredibly hard choice to kill General Zod. Due to Superman's indomitable will, great power, selfless morality, and natural birth, Jonathan Kent believed that his adopted son would one day "stand proudly in front of the human race" and ultimately "change the world", while Jor-El believed in his son's ability to represent the best of both Earth and Krypton, and to one day give the people of Earth "an ideal to strive towards." While, as Jor-El predicted, humanity (notably Batman and Senator Finch) would at first be slow to fully accept the unrestrained supremely powerful alien (with Superman even coming to doubt himself), they would eventually come to see, admire, and look up to him as Earth's greatest superhero. As such, shortly after Superman's debut to the world, a huge statue of him is built in Metropolis, and online message boards are created, which numerous people from all over the world use as a means to ask Superman for helpEverything That All 5 Chapters of the Prequel Comic Taught Us About the World of Batman v Superman. Even villainous metahumans (like Killer Croc and El Diablo) would be inspired by Superman, as Amanda Waller noted that his emergence induced them to finally come out into the open and reveal themselves to the world as well. In order to successfully maintain his double identity as a human reporter of the Daily Planet (during the time that he isn't protecting and saving others as Superman), Clark tries to be as small and invisible as possible, in order to attract little attention to himself and avoid inducing anyone into thinking that he could possibly be the mighty godlike Superman.Henry Cavill Explains How His Take On Clark Kent Is Different From Christopher Reeve's Powers and Abilities Powers *'Kryptonian Physiology: '''As a Kryptonian, Superman's bone structure is almost identical to that of a human. On a planet near a red class M main-sequence star (like Krypton with its sun Rao), Superman would have physical attributes nearly identical to those of humans, but if on a planet near a yellow G-type main-sequence star (like Earth), he has many new abilities and powers, all of them far beyond the capabilities of humans, and even most metahumans, making Superman appear godlike, which thus makes him the Justice League's most powerful member. His father Jor-El states that Superman has become more powerful than the former ever could have imagined, and that the only way to know just how powerful, is for Superman to "keep testing the limits." Batman once even went so far as to say that these powers make Superman capable of single-handedly wiping out the entire human race. As such, even Alfred stated that Batman trying to fight Superman head-on would be "suicide" for the former. Hence, Superman often withholds his power unless absolutely necessary, due to the incredible destruction it can potentially cause. **'Solar Battery:' Superman's Kryptonian cells absorb only yellow solar energy and this in turn fuels all of his powers and abilities. His cells also store solar energy as well, allowing him to retain his powers under roofed structures or even at night, although he eventually needs a yellow sun to recharge his powers. However, due to being on Earth for years and having adapted to Earth's environment, Superman is more powerful than any Kryptonian that has immediate exposure. ***'Super Strength:' Superman has a tremendous level of superhuman strength, virtually incalculable, as he is able to carry more than 1 million tons, and is the physically strongest member of the Justice League. As a teenager, he was able to push a bus out of a river and effortlessly bend a solid metal pole. As an adult, even before he overcame his mental block and reached his full potential, Clark was still incredibly strong, enough to hold up a large part of an oil rig, destroy a big lumber truck, and crush the extremely durable Fortress of Solitude Robot with his bare hands. After embracing his heritage and becoming Superman, his powers increased to their full potential, to the point that Superman's mighty punches generate large shock-waves, and he could now effortlessly hurl cars and trucks great distances, instantly destroy mountain tops, break through the extremely thick hull of the Black Zero with a single punch, break out of Kryptonian liquid geo constructs, fight evenly against fellow Kryptonians (despite them being more experienced and skilled combatants), and even stand up against the tremendous force of a World Engine's huge gravity beam. Superman managed to briefly knock the larger Kryptonian Nam-Ek unconscious with a tremendous punch, and even break through the invulnerability of fellow Kryptonian General Zod, breaking the latter's incredibly durable neck without the need of Kryptonite. Hence, even while holding back, Superman still swiftly beat the heavily armored Batman to the groundBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Official Trailer 2. ****'Super Leaps': Superman is able to use his incredible strength to perform super jumps, shown when he leaped tremendous distances in the Arctic, while trying to master his power of flight. ***'Super Stamina: Superman almost never grows tired if he is continuously powered by the yellow sun of Earth. He doesn't need to eat, sleep, or breathe. He is able to survive flying into outer space and diving underwater. There was originally a limit to his stamina, as he showed effort lifting a huge oil rig, but that was before he reaches his full potential, and he was still ultimately able to lift it. After embracing his heritage and reaching his full potential, he hardly showed signs of fatigue. Though he did grow tired after destroying the World Engine, he was able to recover almost at once and fly back to Metropolis, battle the pull of a Phantom Zone energy singularity, and fight General Zod, all without needing to catch his breath. ***'''Super Speed: Superman can run and fly at tremendous supersonic speeds. During his first flight, Superman traveled all the way from the Arctic to the savannahs of Kenya and then to the Monument Valley in Utah, all in a matter of minutes . At full speed, he was able to fly right through the World Engine and destroy it. Superman flew back from the Indian Ocean to Metropolis in less than a minute, which easily makes his speed greater than Mach 900. Superman was even able to use his speed to escape the tremendous gravitational pull of a Phantom Zone energy singularity. Superman is thus the second fastest member of the Justice League, with the only known being capable of moving slightly faster than Superman being the speedster Flash. ****'Super Reflexes:' Superman's speed seems to extend to his reflexes as well, as he managed to catch a punch from the larger Kryptonian Nam-Ek while being pinned by him and Faora, and was able to avoid several strikes from the equally fast and far more skilled General Zod. ***'Invulnerability:' Superman's body is incredible durable, virtually indestructible, so he is nicknamed "The Man of Steel" as a result. Hence, Superman can withstand the extreme heat of an oil rig conflagration (along with said oil rig's collapse), the extreme cold of the Arctic, an exposure to the vacuum of outer space, falls from great heights, a collision with the Batmobile (causing it to harmlessly glace off of him), a high-speed collision with a mountain top (sheering it off in the process), high-caliber bullets (from both military jets and the Batwing), anti-tank depleted uranium rounds, Maverick missiles, plasma bolts from Tor-An's Kryptonian Dropship, contact with extremely hot constructs of liquid geo , numerous mighty blows from fellow Kryptonians (notably surviving a tremendous beating from the combined might of Faora and Nam-Ek), attacks of other Kryptonians' heat vision (though it does cause him burning pain on contact), and even the full force of a World Engine's colossal gravity beam, spaghettification from a Phantom Zone energy singularity, as well as the stupendously destructive energy attack from Doomsday. While Superman can be affected by the considerable force of powerful impacts, they only at most cause him to stumble and briefly knock him down, leaving him unscathed. The only things capable of breaking through Superman's invulnerability and actually harming him are Aquaman's TridentZack Snyder Defends Aquaman’s Honor, Wonder Woman's Sword, and beings of comparable incalculable strength (such as other Kryptonians and the monster Doomsday), as they are strong enough to physically break though his invulnerability without the need of Kryptonite, shown when Superman himself managed to break fellow Kryptonian General Zod's otherwise invulnerable neck, killing him. ****'Healing Factor: '''In rare instances when he is hurt, Superman is shown to heal at superhuman speeds, such as when he was knocked unconscious by the explosion and collapse of an oil rig, taking an immense beating from the combined forces of Faora-Ul and Nam-Ek, and the colossal beam of the World Engine. He instantly recovered from the World Engine, once exposed to sunlight. However, if the injuries are serious enough to instantly kill him (such as when Superman broke General Zod's neck), his healing factor will not be able to save him. ***'Flight:' Superman can fly due to him being able to manipulate his own gravity field (since Earth's gravity is lighter than Krypton's) and absorbing yellow sunlight. Combined with his speed, Superman can fly at tremendous supersonic speeds (beyond Mach 900), allowing him to take off into the atmosphere and even outer space and land safely back onto the planet's surface with ease. He can also maneuver with precision in any direction, as well as hover in one place. ***'Super Breath:' Superman, as long as he is in exposed to yellow solar radiation and can access his energy stores, is capable of surviving without the need to breathe, allowing him to walk through a burning oil rig, travel at tremendous supersonic speeds, remain underwater, and even in the vacuum of outer space, all for lengthy periods of time without suffocation. ***'Super Vision:' Superman has superhuman eyesight far beyond that of humans. He possesses a superior sensory arrangement of telescopic, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray, and gamma ray visual capabilities. He can see the entire electromagnetic spectrum when he desires, through mental focus. However, in his youth, his vision overwhelmed him as he saw everything at once, though he managed to hone his senses and bypass that weakness. ****'Telescopic Vision: Clark has the ability to focus his vision to see something at a great distance, by mentally zooming in. Hence, he was able to see the Black Zero in space from Smallville, and (in combination with his X-ray vision), he saw Lois inside the falling capsule. ****'X-ray vision: '''Clark can see through almost any object. Superman is able to focus his vision past layers of matter, literally seeing "through" them, possibly perceiving x-rays, cosmic rays or other forms of energy invisible to normal human vision which pass through Earth's atmosphere (and solid objects). He is able to clearly see through the one-way glass in the interrogation room, reading Dr. Hamilton's ID badge in the latter's pocket, and simultaneously see through several walls into adjacent rooms, clearly seeing the soldiers in them. The only known materials known to be impenetrable to Superman's x-ray vision are lead, the force field of a Kryptonian breather (when rendered opaque) , as well as the Kryptonian metal which the walls of the Fortress of Solitude were composed of . ****'Heat Vision: 'Superman has the ability to fire thick beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it with the conscious act of activating this power. Visually, the power manifests as two thick laser-like beams of red light firing from his eyes. These beams can be made less intense, rendering them invisible, allowing Clark to work undetected. He has extremely fine control of this ability, as Superman was able to swiftly cauterize Lois Lane's wound without fatally burning her, for instance. At full power, Clark can utilize his heat vision to instantly melt a thick steel beam, swiftly burrow a wide passage through an Arctic glacier, momentarily stun other Kryptonians (causing them burning pain on the impact), destroy the Fortress' Genesis Chamber, and even bring down an entire skyscraper in one blast (as evidenced by General Zod doing so to the Wayne Financial Building). **'Super Hearing: 'Superman has incredible hearing at extreme variances of sound and pitch frequency, allowing him to pick up numerous sounds (including both infrasound and ultrasound) and noises from immense distances. In his youth, this along with his superhuman vision overwhelmed him, but he eventually learned to control it. After honing his senses, he has shown enough control to block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source or frequency. Hence, Superman was able to clearly hear General Swanwick and Dr. Hamilton's voices and heartbeats from within a soundproof interrogation cell, and clearly heard Martha Kent in distress at the Kent Farm from miles away. ***'Lie Detection: Superman can tell whether people are lying or not, based on the rate of their heartbeats, which he is quick to warn General Swanwick about. . **'Super Smell:' Superman has incredibly acute olfactory senses, as he was able to detect the "distinct saline odor" of the Genesis Chamber on the Fortress of Solitude, in spite of the very thick translucent barrier that separated him from it. **'Longevity:' Superman, as a Kryptonian under a yellow sun, has a lifespan far greater than that of a human. As such, he doesn't show signs of age as long as the yellow sun is there to empower him. As Superman is unaffected by earthly diseases and draws energy from the sun to live, he is effectively an ageless immortal on Earth. Abilities *'Combatant:' Superman, though he has no formal training, with his unmatched strength and incredible powers, is an extremely formidable fighter. He is shown to be a quick learner, and was ultimately able to defeat Faora, a fellow Kryptonian born and highly trained in the Kryptonian Warrior Guild (though he initially was having trouble keeping up with her, and only succeeded in winning by catching her off-guard), gaining a slight upper hand in battle against the combined might of two Kryptonian warriors (Faora and Nam-Ek), and fighting and eventually killing General Zod (even though the latter maintained the upper hand throughout most of their duel), all of whom had far more experience and combat training than himself. While Superman might not be a trained fighter, he can effectively compensate for this with impressive adaptability and improvisation. *'Indomitable Will:' Superman has tremendous determination and strength of will, since he refuses to give up, even when placed against seemingly insurmountable odds. Hence, despite being badly outmatched and outnumbered in his fights against the combined efforts of Faora and Nam-Ek, his battle with the World Engine's gravity beam, and later General Zod, and taking a tremendous beating from all of them, Superman promptly rose up and persistently kept on fighting, until he eventually managed to gain the upper hand. Superman later refused to back down when faced by the stronger and more powerful Doomsday, and proceeded to team up with Wonder Woman and Batman to take the monster down. *'Expert Reporter:' Clark Kent, as a reporter for the very famous and respected Daily Planet newspaper, while not quite as skilled as his girlfriend Lois Lane (having far less experience), is still confident enough in his abilities as a reporter to believe that he could successfully attack the vigilante Batman through the press. Weaknesses *'Kryptonite:' , examining Kryptonite with fascination.]]This radioactive green mineral crystal from Krypton is Superman's greatest weakness, as it is extremely deadly to him. *'Red Sun Radiation: '''A red class M main-sequence star (like Rao) can rob Superman of the powers that he gains under a yellow sun. Because of this, any environment filled with red sun radiation will render him to human levels. *'Kryptonian Atmospherics:' Breathing in an atmosphere, the composition of which is identical to that which was once on Krypton, and remaining in an environment shielded from any solar radiation (such as the interior of the Black Zero) induces Superman to lose access to his stores of solar energy, which, in turn, renders him to human levels. Also, due to Superman having spent 33 years of his life adapting to Earth's environment (and having lived only a few hours in the environment of Krypton), he also had trouble breathing, and was weakened to the point of gaining a profuse nosebleed and blacking out. However, once he had adapted to the environment, Superman's health returned to normal. But the atmosphere and radiation shielding of the ship's hull still made him unable to access his solar energy stores. However, as soon as the Kryptonian atmosphere is changed by Jor-El (back to that of Earth, in order to also accommodate Lois), Superman instantly regained access to his stores and powers. Kryptonian air will not, however, have such an effect on Superman when he is in an environment full of yellow solar radiation, as Faora, Nam-Ek and General Zod all still had access to their powers on Earth while wearing breathers with Kryptonian air. *'Sensory Overload: As Superman has superhuman senses, his brains can be overwhelmed by the information it takes in. Though he can gradually learn to hone his senses, an attack on his sight and/or hearing can briefly stun him. But he will recover from the attack afterwards. Clark, however, permanently overcame this weakness as a child, though focus and with guidance from his mother Martha. Hence, a high-frequency attack from a Kryptonian signal jammer only affected him for a few seconds, with him able to swiftly recoverEverything That All 5 Chapters of the Prequel Comic Taught Us About the World of Batman v Superman. *'Mental Block: '''Before Clark finds out about his alien origins, he subconsciously suppressed his powers out of isolation and a lack of understanding them. While he was still incredibly strong, this mental block considerably limited his strength to the point where an oil rig explosion and collapse was able to knock him out and prohibited Clark from the ability of flight. However, once he learned of his Kryptonian heritage from Jor-El and embraced his who he is as Kal-El, Clark finally permanently overcame this weakness and gained his full potential, becoming much stronger than ever before, nearly never showing signs of fatigue, even learning how to fly. *'Beings of Equal Power: Beings of comparable incalculable superhuman might, such as other Kryptonians and the monster Doomsday, can generate enough force that can knock out, injure and even kill Superman, breaking through his invulnerability without the need of Kryptonite, much like how Superman himself was able to kill General Zod by breaking the latter's otherwise invulnerable neck. Equipment *'Superman Skinsuit:' Superman's traditional Kryptonian skinsuit , which he wears when openly demonstrating his powers by helping others in need. *'Clark Kent glasses:' Clark's pair of glasses, which he always dons whenever he needs to conceal him being Superman, notably while posing as a mild-mannered human reporter at the Daily Planet. *'House of El Command Key:' Superman's piece of highly advanced Kryptonian technology, made of Liquid Geo, which allowed him to operate and use the Fortress of Solitude and communicate with Jor-El's artificial intelligence. He wore it on his neck as a pendant during his many years of searching for answers. It was, however, ultimately sucked into the Phantom Zone. *'Infant Starship:' Superman's former starship (equipped with a Phantom Drive), which Jor-El and Lara had used to send him to Earth as an infant. It was, however, ultimately sucked into the Phantom Zone. *'Fortress of Solitude:' Superman discovered this ancient Kryptonian scout ship deep under Canadian ice, after which he promptly took possession of it. He made the Fortress his temporary residence, when he communicated with the AI of Jor-El. However, after the Black Zero Event, the Fortress of Solitude would fall into the malevolent hands of Lex Luthor. *'Growth Codex:' Superman's cells have been bonded by Jor-El to the Kryptonian Growth Codex, which constituted the intended DNA makeup of over a billion Kryptonians. However, as revealed by Jax-Ur, it would have still been potentially possible to extract the Codex from Superman's body even if the latter had been killed. Relationships Family *House of El **Jor-El † - biological father and mentor (as AI) **Lara Lor-Van † - biological mother **Kelex † - service robot, helped deliver him as an infant **Kelor † - service robot, helped deliver him as an infant **H'Raka † - family pet war kite *Jonathan Kent † - adoptive father and mentor *Martha Kent - adoptive mother *Kara Zor-El - distant relative Allies *Weisinger Primary School **Lana Lang - friend and childhood crush **Peter Ross - bully turned friend **Whitney Fordham - classmate *Daily Planet **Lois Lane - co-worker, confidant and girlfriend **Perry White - boss **Jenny Jurwich **Steve Lombard *Justice League **Batman - enemy turned ally **Wonder Woman **Aquaman **Flash **Cyborg **Green Lantern *Trinity Lutheran Church **Daniel Leone - confidant and secret-keeper *United States Armed Forces **General Swanwick - enemy turned trusted ally **Carrie Farris - admirer **Nathan Hardy † - enemy turned ally *Emil Hamilton † - enemy turned ally *Cassidy Pub **Chrissy - former co-worker Enemies *Weisinger Primary School **Kenny Braverman - bully *Sword of Rao **General Zod † - enemy and victim **Faora - enemy and intended killer **Nam-Ek **Jax-Ur - experimenter **Tor-An **Car-Vex - prison warden of Lois *LexCorp Industries **Lex Luthor - manipulator and Archnemesis **Mercy Graves *Senator Finch Behind the scenes On January 30, 2011, it was announced that Henry Cavill had been cast as Superman in Man of Steel, becoming the first non-American actor to play the character of Superman. He was previously cast in Superman: Flyby, and was considered for the role in the 2006 film Superman Returns. Previous Superman actors Brandon Routh and Tom Welling had expressed desire to return to the role, but were both unsuccessful. External Links * Superman at the Superman Wiki. * Superman at the Superman Anthology Wiki. References Category:Heroes Category:Kryptonians Category:Man of Steel Characters Category:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Characters Category:Justice League Part One Characters Category:Justice League Part Two Characters Category:Daily Planet Staff Category:Justice League Members